Shaft-support.



No. 653,803. Patented July l7, I900.

H. HABDEN.

SHAFT SUPPORT.

(Application filed. Apr. 14, 1900.)

(No Model.)

lmmigglm l i; $11.1 Hu| I 1 5 r 1 X NITED STATES PATENT OFEIcE.

HARRY HARDEN, OF LONDON, orno, AssIeNoR OF ONE-HALE TO JOHN CARTER AND MISSOURI CARTER, OF sAME PLACE.

SHAFT-8U PP'O RT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters IPatent No. 653,803, dated July 17, 1900. Application filed April 14, 1900. erial No. 12,879. (No modeh) T all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY HARDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at London, in the county of Madison and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Shaft-Supporter, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to thill-supports,and has for its object to provide an improved device of this character which is designed to support the thill in its operative position and also when elevated and out of use. It is furthermore designed to provide a support which may be applied to any of the common or ordinary forms of thills without changing or altering the latter and also to have the device adjustable to fit different thills and to support the latter at different inclinations.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings,and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle-thill supported in its operative position by means of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation thereof in the elevated position of the thill. Fig. 3 is a' top plan view of Fig. 1.

Corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings are designated by like characters of reference.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates an axle, and 2 a thill, which is connected to the axle by means of any suitable form of thillcoupling, herein shown as an axle-clip 3, having the opposite bearing-ears 4, between which is pivoted the thill-iron 5 by means of the thill-bolt 6. It will be understood that these parts may have any preferred form and are shown in the drawings to more adequately illustrate the application and operation of the present support.

In carrying out the present invention there is provided a substantially L-shaped arm 7, which has-its upright member located in rear of the axle, and its horizontal member is provided with perforations to receive the opposite arms of the axle-clip, so that it may be secured flat against the underside of the axle and take the place of the usual plate that connects the arms of the clip. The upper end of the L-shaped arm is bifurcated to form a fork 8, within which is pivoted a link 9, that is designed to swing to the opposite front and rear sides of the arm, and is provided at its outer free end with a bifurcation to form a fork l0. I

Between the outer free end of the link 0 and the thill there is a longitudinally-adjust able link, comprising a nipple or sleeve 11, having its outer end pivoted within the forked end of the link 9 and its opposite end provided with a screw-threaded socket 12 for the reception of one end of a screw-threaded pin or rod 13. At the opposite end of the pin or rod there is another nipple or sleeve 14, that has its outer end provided with a screwthreaded socket 15 for the reception of the adjacent end of the pin 13, and the inner end of this sleeve is pivoted between the opposite bearing-ears 16, formed on the plate 17, which is secured to the upper or rear side of the thill. The pin or rod 13 is provided at its middle with an eye or perforation 18 or other means whereby the pin may be turned, and it will be understood that the opposite ends of the pin are oppositely screw-threaded, so as to form a turnbuckle for adjusting the lengthof the link between the thill and the link 9,

Bearing upon the pivotal connection be tween the sleeve 1 L and the plate 17 is a substantially L-shaped spring 18", which has its upright member secured flat against the plate 17 and above the bearing-ears 16 by means of an intermediate fastening 19, which also serves to secure the plate to the thill. At the upper end of the plate there are provided the opposite lugs or ears 20 to bear against the opposite edges of the spring and hold the latter in place. It will be observed that the tongue or free outwardly-projecting portion of the spring bears against the upper side of the joint between the adjustable link and the thill, so as to prevent accidental breaking of this joint or looseness thereof.

In the normal operative position of the thill, as shown in Fig. 1, the links are extended in alinement transversely across the axle, so as to support the outer ends of the thill above the ground or floor and at the same time permits of the slight vertical movement due to the movement of the animal. When the thill is thrown upwardly and out of the way when not in use, as shown in Fig. 2, the joint between the two links breaks upwardly and the link 9 swings to the rear side of the L-shaped support 7 until the centers of the joints at the opposite ends of thelink are in alinement, soas to lock the thill in this position. It will now be understood that the spring 18 is designed to' place a tension upon. th'elinked connection between the axle and the thill, so that a; decided effort must be made to swing. thethil'l from one position to the other, andthus accidental breaking of the joints is effectually prevented. Also the linked connection is longitudinally adjustable, so as to accommodate'the device to diiferent vehiclesand also to support the thills at different inclinations, as may be convenient or necessary in. any particular case. Moreover, the support may be applied to any common or ordinary form of thill without changing or alter- 2. In a thill-suppo rt, the combination with anaxle, and a-thill, of opposite sleeves, which are pivotally connected to the axle and the thill, respectively, and also are provided with oppositely-disposed internal screw-threads, and a pin or rod, having its respective ends oppositely screw threaded and fitting the respective sleeves, to adjust the length of the connection between the axle and the thill,

3. Inathill-support, the combination with an axle, and a thill, of a support, comprising a-l-i-nk pivoted to the axle and arranged to. swing transversely across the upper side and to the front and rear sides thereof, and a second link, having one end pivoted to the freeend of the first-mentioned link, and its opposite end pivotally connected to the upper'sidze' of the thill, both links being extendedi in longitudinal alinement transverselyacrossthe axle, in the normal operative position of the thill, and folded longitudinally upon each other in rear of the axle, in the" elevated position of the thill.

4. A thill-support, comprising a substantially L-shaped arm for. connectionwith an axle, and having its upper end forked, a link.

having one end pivot'edin the fork of thea-rm, and its opposite end provided with a-fork,.an internally-screw-threaded sleeve having its outer end pivoted within thefork of the link,

a turn-screw having one end fitted in'the- 

